The Legs for Silk
by Scarlet Secret
Summary: Lady Rosamund arrives with a rather unorthodox present for her sister-in-law. Femslash.


A/N: For Doctor Madwoman. In which Sarah and Rosamund get a bit close. This is only chapter one though and there will be more!

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><p>Sarah O'Brien held back her sigh as she waited by the front door with Carson. Neither of them spoke – Sarah put it down to the obscene earliness of the hour, even for servants five o'clock was a little too early to engage in stimulating conversation – and instead they listened to the ticking of the grandfather clock in the entrance hall as they anticipated the arrival of Lady Rosamund Painswick. Whenever the redhead descended on Downton the staff knew they were in for something of a trying time and this time was no different: since the war, or rather, since last New Year, Lady Rosamund had been more difficult than ever with the maids that were loaned to her and it had now reached the point that the only one she didn't have a sharp word for was O'Brien. Possibly because she knew it would have little to no effect on the lady's maid.<p>

Lady Grantham, being the kind-hearted soul she was, didn't hesitate to share her maid with her sister-in-law, which Sarah supposed was admirable from her perspective, but it wasn't like her ladyship was getting up at the crack of dawn to greet the bloody woman was it? She'd tried to point this out to Cora but only been met with a uncomprending stare that she had long since learnt Cora did on purpose to avoid having to answer someone, that had soon changed into a playful smirk. That had changed into a kiss, which had become something that could only be described as a grope, their clothes had come off, the bed had been used and Sarah had found herself giving in on another request. She would have grumbled but Carson would only see her and it wasn't like her potential reward wouldn't be worth it, was it?

That was, if they managed to get a moment alone together without Lady Rosamund performing her usual trick of _always_ turning up at precisely the wrong moment. Her presence made Cora happy, so Sarah supposed she should be all for the visits but it did put something of a dampener in their sex life – and god she was elated to think that she had one of _those_ again – when the redhead might burst into Cora's bedroom at any moment demanding company. And if she didn't know any better she'd swear the bloody woman was doing it on purpose. There was always a knowing glint in her eyes when she entered Cora's room unannounced that quickly turned to disappointment when the most she ever walked in on was Sarah removing Cora's stockings. All in all Lady Rosamund's presence was going to be something of a challenge but on the other hand her effervescence always added buoyancy to Cora's mood. If she hadn't been assured by her lover a number of times she would have thought there was something to concern herself with but it wasn't worth dwelling on that now.

Outside she heard the car pulling up to the house and thought she saw Carson visibly steel himself before opening the door. She contained her smirk at his reluctance to let calamity into the house at all costs and instead plastered on her most neutral face and tried not to think about Cora sleeping peacefully and looking like an angel upstairs as Lady Rosamund swanned in. If Cora was the angel of the household then Rosamund's origin was considerably less heavenly and dressed from head to foot in what appeared to be red fur she looked rather like she was on fire. If nothing else Sarah thought she might take the indignation on Carson's face to her grave with her.

"Good morning Lady Rosamund."

"Oh goodness, I _am_ early if you're my only welcoming committee Carson. Well," she nodded politely at Carson, who after so many years didn't even bother to lean outside and tell a lady's maid that there was tea for her in the kitchen. "I suppose it's my own fault."

She pulled the coat off – to reveal a travelling suit of nearly the same share of red – and deposited the fur in Sarah's outstretched hands. Her gloves followed and just when Sarah thought she was starting to milk the attention of having them both standing there silently observing her she smiled at Carson and passed a few words with him, mostly to let him know that she would not be requiring food. Sarah bit her lip and didn't say that it was a first.

Eventually she seemed to be content that she'd removed her hat to its maximum advantage and announced she wanted her bedroom and to be undressed; it was left unsaid that she would probably sleep till noon, as per usual, before joining the family for lunch. The butler strode away and finally she turned to the maid.

"Have you had a good morning m'lady?"

She laughed and began to lead the way up the stairs, motioning for O'Brien to follow her.

"I don't think I've ever come across a _good _morning my dear. It's far too early for me but the ghastly driver insisted on setting off at first light, so here I am!"

Rosamund stopped on the stairs for a moment to look down at the woman following her, raking her eyes over Sarah for whatever reason the maid didn't like to think, before doing the smirk that always indicated there was something no good about to happen.

"You're looking well. How are you these days O'Brien?"

Sarah suppressed an eye-roll, before remembering that Rosamund wasn't looking and letting it happen anyway. With the absence of Cora to greet her, and Carson's staunch features the first thing she saw after she left the car, Sarah supposed it was only to be expected that Rosamund unleashed her usual inappropriate staring upon the first person she saw.

"Very well, thank you m'lady. One of the maids will bring up your luggage later but I laid out one of the nightdresses you left before in your usual room."

"Thank you but it's not necessary."

"You won't be sleeping m'lady?"

"Oh I didn't say that, I am quite fatigued but I just won't require a nightdress."

Sarah furrowed her brow for the slightest of seconds before feeling a fool and rolling her eyes once more. It didn't matter one way or the other to her of course but as she was probably the one that was going to have to rouse the bloody woman later on and she didn't imagine Rosamund was going to make it less embarrassing for her. The last time the redhead had been here she'd walked in on her still abed and doing something with her hand under the bed: and to add insult to injury the woman had spoken to her pleasantly without once removing them!

"Very good m'lady."

"You'd be surprised," the haughty high voice muttered with a laugh bubbling underneath and Sarah gripped the fur tighter to stop herself from throwing it at her. "Although I doubt much surprises you any more O'Brien."

"You'd be surprised I imagine m'lady."

Rosamund laughed but didn't look back this time, seemingly satisfied that she had gotten the response she desired and they managed, thankfully in Sarah's opinion, to reach the room Rosamund usually claimed when she invaded without any further conversation. Sarah was quite content with the thought that after undressing Rosamund – and if nothing else she'd save time by not having to _redress_ her – she'd be able to run off for a cigarette, a cup of tea and her own breakfast before heading up to wake Cora in whichever way she thought best.

But there was one more obstacle to overcome. She had not properly noticed it when Rosamund came in – the scarlet blaze in the door was rather distracting after all – but half way up the stairs she had realised that the redhead was carrying a parcel. She had not allowed Sarah to carry it when she'd reached for it vaguely at the top of the stairs, but she was very suspicious of the look of sheer glee that was in the older woman's eye now as she all but fondled the parcel.

"O'Brien…before you undress me I wonder if I might ask a favour?"

_As though undressing you when I might be busying myself with your sister-in-law isn't a favour in itself you daft bloody woman!_

"Certainly m'lady," she gritted out with as much pleasantry as she could. "How can I help?"

"Well," Rosamund smiled slyly and settled herself on the bed, laying her parcel out next to her. "I have a present you see... For Cora."

Sarah breathed a sigh of relief. That wasn't too bad really and at least she'd know what it was later on when Cora inevitably told her.

"I can take it to her with her breakfast m'lady."

She crossed the room and reached for it but Lady Rosamund pulled back slightly. She grinned properly now and the dangerous mischief was sparkling in her eye; it was the same brewing trouble that had led her and Cora to several pubs in the local area, to being drunk in a dressmakers, to daring each other to pluck feathers from Lady Flintshire's arrangement and to Rosamund flirting so heavily with poor, little Evelyn Napier that he'd hidden behind Cora for most of the night.

"Oh no. You see, it's quite an unusual present and I'll need your help _displaying_ it…in fact you'd better open it first. It'll be no fun if she gets it in a brown parcel after all."

Rosamund handed her the package at long last and Sarah felt her stomach sink with sudden dread. She knew Rosamund had several friends in London that even Cora's infinite capacity for benevolence couldn't describe as anything other than unsavoury so whatever was in the parcel was unlikely to be anything Lady Rosamund was able to show her brother. It felt soft, so she ruled out some of her worst fears, before pulling apart the wrapping neatly.

She pushed out the breath of air she had been holding when she saw the silken contents. Underwear. Well, she should have guessed that one really shouldn't she? They were nothing conventional though, nothing at all like Cora's other, much prettier and more practical ones but _Christ_ that was an interesting shade of purple and they were undoubtedly beautiful. She fingered the material and tried valiantly to conceal the lust that swelled in her at the thought of Cora wearing then but she wasn't entirely successful and felt her mouth run dry.

"They're…er…they're lovely m'lady," she coughed and licked her lips. "What do you want _me_ to do with them?"

Rosamund fell back onto the bed laughing, kicking her shoes off gaily and reaching up to pull the pins from her hair as she splayed herself on the bed without too much care for how she looked. Sarah, despite herself, couldn't help but envy that about her.

"I would have thought that was perfectly obvious O'Brien," she affected an utterly devious smirk as she propped herself up on her elbows to stare at the maid without too much of an attempt being made not to make her feel uncomfortable. "I want you to _wear_ them."

Sarah's insides froze along with her expression. Surely she couldn't be _serious_? And if she was suggesting such things…did she know? The thought was horrifying. If Lady Rosamund Painswick knew then they were sunk because it would only take her a week to spread the news around all of London. Unless they killed her and prevented her from returning: for a moment Sarah considered how likely they were to be suspected but pushed the thought away as being ludicrous. She'd never get away with it because she'd be too pleased with her success.

"M'lady…I'm not too sure…"

"Oh for goodness sake! Do you two really think I'm so dense I can't see the way you've been looking at each other this last year?" She sighed heavily, frustrated by the stupidity of those blinded by love and was quite glad that she had never been blinded herself – being driven by lust didn't count as being the same thing _at all_. "If it had just been you then I wouldn't have thought too much of it. It's not unheard of after all, a maid to be mooning after her mistress… Especially one who's been here as long as you have my dear."

She pushed herself off the bed and stood in front of Sarah with a triumphant look on her face and Sarah knew she was sunk. The look on her face must be telling indeed.

"But Cora's been doe-eyed and smiling all over the place. Well, more than she usually is at any rate. You know, and don't get too big a head over this O'Brien, but she was actually so distracted last time that she let me play her something on the piano!"

Rosamund had always thought that the maid looked like a sensible woman and was relying on that to help them at the moment, however, any fool could surely understand how desperately distracted someone must be in order to let _her_ play an instrument. She had attracted men in the past with looks and charm, not a little bit of money, with an independent nature and a mischievous look in her eye. She had never, to her knowledge, let any of them hear her sing or play and as a result she had been wildly successful as a collector of lovers.

"I _was_ troubled to begin with, I'll admit, but it seems harmless enough," she smirked again and bent her head to meet the maid's eye, trying to ascertain whether calling it something as benign as _harmless_ was going to insult the woman.

"And I don't see why you shouldn't have something to wear for Cora other than her own old underwear!"

Sarah blushed scarlet and Rosamund was extremely gratified: she was right and she had already made one of them blush this morning and this was the _difficult_ one! Smiling giddily she took the parcel from Sarah's hand with a flourish and looked her up and down expectantly, not bothering to hide the amusement in her eyes.

"Well what are you waiting for? Get this hideous gown off and let's see what you look like in them. I had to guess the size you understand but I know you're a bit shorter than me and a bit," Rosamund licked her lips as they curved into a relentless grin. "_Fuller_. But I think I'm a good guessed."

Sarah remained frozen to the spot and re-assessed how much she disliked Lady Rosamund Painswick. She had purchased sordid underwear for her sister's lady's maid and was now commanding her to strip naked in front of her and put the damned garments on for her inspection. Before now she had felt rather ambivalent in general with the annoyance swelling slightly every time she descended but now all of that had changed.

Sarah decided she rather loathed Lady Rosamund.

"M'lady, I'm very grateful," she managed to choke out as her whole body flushed in embarrassment. And in a way she was. The thrill of wearing something like this would be a new experience and one she desperately wanted to share with Cora, but the sparkling eyes of Lady Rosamund were snake-like and a bit disturbing and she was half-convinced that this might all be some kind of joke. "But it's not appropriate for me to undress here."

Lady Rosamund tossed back her head and laughed like a particularly beautiful and well-groomed hyena.

"My dear woman, despite what might appear on the surface when is anything in this house ever appropriate? Between you and Cora, Mary being a tart, Sybil's lust for the young driver, Turks dying left right and centre and the queer footman I think you undressing in front of a woman _you've_ seen undressed lord knows how many times is fairly insignificant."

Sarah weighed all this up in her head and wondered how Lady Rosamund knew _quite_ so much about them all. She'd always prided herself on being the most well-informed member of staff and if _Cora_ were the one privy to all this after having consulted her maid then that was to be expected, but Rosamund didn't even _live_ here! God, the bloody woman was a menace and a half and Sarah was beginning to rethink Thomas' theory that she had little hiding holes all around the house that she lived in through the year to spy on them all.

"Chop-chop darling, I want to get to sleep at some point this morning you know," Rosamund smirked and rolled her eyes. "If you're going to come over all shy I'll look the other way but if you just do it quickly I'll even help you fasten up those clasps myself."

Rosamund's smile was distinctly unnerving, but feeling defeated Sarah reached for her buttons almost automatically and pulled them away, choosing the latter option if only to see if Lady Rosamund _could_ work clasps. She wondered idly how many times Cora would hit the roof if she found out Rosamund had made her strip off in her presence and finally understood that if Rosamund knew, then she probably also knew that Cora wouldn't just jump into bed with anyone. She _knew_ knew. Not just about the sex, but about all the other things and Sarah raised her head with some defiance even if she didn't stop.

"I'm sure her ladyship'll enjoy them very much."

There was a slight tinge to the smile now but Rosamund could hardly accuse her of being facetious when it was she who had given the order to undress could she? Sarah pulled her arms free of the sleeves and pushed the dress over her hips, keeping her eyes challengingly on Rosamund as she did so and silently communicating the message that there could be as many stripping incidents as the redhead liked and she could buy them enough tarty underwear to dress the whole Moulin Rouge, but she would _never_ be part of what they had.

Rosamund, for her part, decided that she liked this woman more and more. She was bold and dignified and was no doubt doing wonders for Cora's emotional state. And she looked a lot better bereft of her god-awful dress! She had smooth, rather pale skin but it looked soft and- Rosamund nearly burst out laughing, just above her collarbone there was a very distinct red mark that she had a feeling Cora was probably behind. She couldn't, in all honesty, blame Cora. The swell of the maid's breast was rather telling under her thin chemise and tight corset and Rosamund wondered how her little sister managed to get through the day when she had a rather beautiful lover running around all the time.

"I'm sure she will. She's always been rather partial to satin in the past."

Rosamund smirked and at least averted her eyes as O'Brien fiddled expertly with the corset.

"You'll need to take that off as well," she reached out a hand and vaguely waved towards the chemise. "They're hardly designed to go on over the top."

Sarah ground her teeth together in frustrated humiliation. She couldn't say no at this point but Lady Rosamund's eyes were always critical and consuming; Sarah wanted to run away from her, present or not, and curl up with Cora and her soft eyes that never laughed like this, or at least not at her. Cora loved her and would never put her through this but as Rosamund pulled at the buttons of her own jacket – and didn't appear to be wearing anything too substantial underneath it and the matching tweed skirt – Sarah couldn't help but laugh a little bit.

"You're enjoying this!"

"Of course I am my dear," throwing her head back Rosamund pulled the jacket away to reveal a thin chemise of her own, without the necessity of a corset and Sarah felt smug that at least her chest had always required one. "I prefer the world around me to look nice after all…"

Sarah quickly dropped the corset on the growing pile and deftly pulled her chemise over her head, feeling better now it was almost like they were racing to be partially clad, and standing as casually as she could manage in front of a woman whose waist was at least three inches smaller than hers in nothing but stockings and knickers.

"And this is already much better!" Rosamund pulled the buttons of her skirt distractedly and Sarah couldn't claim to be overly surprised that the redhead was much better at undressing herself than Cora was. She came forth predatorily and Sarah could feel a few strands of hair brushing her neck that had escaped from her bun.

"Good grief that dress really does do you a disservice," she licked her lips but smiled with as much friendliness as possible. The poor woman was keeping up her bravado, but looked as though she expected to be eaten at any given point and Rosamund felt a stab of guilt. She didn't _mean_ to make people uncomfortable and it wasn't her fault they weren't as open-minded was it? Maybe once O'Brien relaxed a little more and got into her new uniform and saw what a reaction they elicited from Cora she'd be a bit more languid? Well, after the seeing to Cora was probably going to give her she bloody should be languid!

Rosamund removed the corset from the packaging with relish and beckoned the maid closer. She circled around and placed the material up against O'Brien's form, taking extra care to brush her knuckles over the soft skin at her waist, already pleased with how the colour looked on her and noticing another telling red mark on the back of the woman's neck. Good god, what on earth had they been doing for Cora to suckle her _there?_

"My word O'Brien, I didn't think Cora had it in her!"

Sarah wriggled away from her for a moment, holding the corset against her breasts as a meagre guard and turning with a raised eyebrow that soon developed into a smirk of her own when she saw the lack of malice in Rosamund's eyes. For the first time she thought she understood what Cora saw in the other woman and the sheer enjoyment of pleasure was infectious.

"You'd be surprised."

Rosamund laughed joyously, far too loudly for this time of the morning but Sarah couldn't help but grin herself as she turned her back to the other woman again, offering her the clasps. They were taken up with surprising dexterity and Sarah soon found herself neatly wrapped in the corset and with Rosamund twirling her around.

Conjuring up a number of terribly interesting scenarios involving Cora and the marvellous breasts that were rather wonderfully close to hers now Rosamund stared unabashedly and wondered if O'Brien was aware of how unfair it was that her breasts were quite so ample and firm for a woman their age. She didn't allow for the fact that O'Brien was nearly ten years younger than her.

"She won't be able to resist you," she raked her eyes over the skin she could see and reached up to pull the pins from the other woman's hair, speaking wryly. "Although I very much doubt she does most of the time anyway." She wiggled her eyebrows theatrically.

Sarah couldn't help it. She laughed first this time and it was more than enough for Rosamund to start laughing along with her.

"This is bloody ridiculous y'know?"

"I know," she finished the clasps at the front and moved back behind O'Brien to pull the laces tighter. "But I'm seldom serious my darling." She didn't pull the laces too tight – O'Brien had the waist for it but she had no idea how long it would be until Cora undressed her maid and discovered her surprise and assumed O'Brien had to be flexible in her working day.

She stood back to admire the garment. It certainly suited O'Brien wonderfully, when she had her hair down she'd look quite divine really, and considerably better than the dour face she presented to the world. Smirking slightly Rosamund fetched the rest of the pieces.

Grinning at the slightly horrified look on Sarah's face Rosamund held them out to her.

"Silk stockings…and yes you have to wear the suspenders too. And," gleefully she reached for the final piece and rubbed the red knickers between her fingers with almost perverse glee. "These," she gestured towards the ones Sarah was already wearing, "Off."

TBC...


End file.
